This morning, February 2, Ali Erol, a prominent Turkish human rights activist and a founder of Kaos GL Association, Turkey’s first registered LGBT organisation, was arrested and detained in a home he shares with his partner.
Indications of the reasons for his arrest are yet unknown, though Kaos GL reports that Erol’s social media posts were included in the authorities’ detention warrant.
Homosexuality is not a criminal offence in Turkey, however discrimination against LGBT+ people, including arbitrary arrests and targeting by authorities, is rampant and on the rise.
Commenting on the arrest, Jessica Stern, OutRight Action International Executive Director, says: “OutRight calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Turkish LGBT+ human rights activist Ali Erol. He is an unjust casualty of an increasingly authoritarian government attacking democracy and curtailing the rights of Turkish citizens exercising their rights to expression and assembly. The persecution of LGBT+, and all, Turkish human rights defenders needs to stop now.”
In November 2017, the governor of Ankara banned all LGBT+ related events in the Turkish capital, saying all such events could spur public animosity from other groups and the need to maintain safety and security. While
Despite Kaos GL and another Ankara based LGBT+ group challenging the ban as unconstitutional, it remains in place indefinitely.
Istanbul Pride events have been banned by the city’s governor for the past three years. Pride marchers, who marched despite the ban, were met with rubber bullets and arrests.
Following a failed military coup in July 2016, dissenters, opposition leaders, human rights activists, and journalists in Turkey have been heavily persecuted and arrested with reports of the arrests of over 50,000 people.
Current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan authoritarian rule is one that also seeks to impose a more conservative interpretation of Islam on the population.
Yildiz Tar, Media and Communications Coordinator for Kaos GL, says: “Having such little information about the detention of a prominent figure of the LGBT+ movement and founder of Kaos GL is unlawful and worrying.
“If you recall, Ankara Governorship banned LGBT+ events for an indefinite period in November. This detention is an intervention in both freedom of expression and LGBT+ rights. We hope this injustice will be corrected.”
Erol was the recipient of the prestigious David Kato Vision & Voice Award for 2013.
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